Who's Your Mommy?
by Tina101
Summary: A secret...a secret child no one knew about, not even those closest to her. Now, the child is thirteen, and looking for some answers, answers only the Bohemians can give her.
1. A True Gift

_Who's Your Mommy?_

**Chapter 1: A True Gift**

The Bohemians all walked down to the street to the loft after drinking at the Life. Mimi talked in a rapid Spanish to Angel as Roger draped a leather jacket clad arm over the dancer's shoulders. Mark was desperately trying to get his camera back form Maureen while Collins and Joanne cheered them on. Roger began to space out. Something just didn't seem right.

"Roger, you with us babe?" Mimi asked, bringing Roger back to reality. The rocker nodded.

"Yeah, I'm here," he replied. Mimi rubbed Roger's chest, and began to kiss him. The coupled continued to make out and keep walking. The rest of the Bohemians began to hoot and catcall.

"Now _that's _a true gift of multitasking!" Collins announced. Roger and Mimi immediately broke apart, both bright red. Roger slid his hand down to Mimi's ass, and squeezed it playfully before going to help Maureen keep Mark away from his camera.

"You guys are so nauseatingly in love," Angel told her best friend. Mimi flashed the drag queen a cheeky grin.

"Right back at you my dear, right back at you." The two linked arms, and ran to catch up with everyone else.

As the Bohemians walked down the street, the sound of yelling caught their attention. Normally they would just disregard yelling, they _were_ in Alphabet City, but something was different about the yelling. For starters, it sounded like it was coming from a young girl. The seven friends rounded the corner, and found a dead beat hassling a girl who appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen.

"Get off me!" the girl exclaimed as she tried to shove the man off of her.

"Come on, I don't want to hurt you," the man said as the kept trying to approach the girl.

"Hey! She said get off!" Roger yelled as Collins yanked the man off the girl. Right away, the girl began to pick up her scattered belongings on the sidewalk. Joanne's maternal instincts set in, and she went over to help.

"I'm fine, really," the girl told Joanne as she stood up.

"Well it sure as hell didn't look like it," Roger said. "Alphabet City's no place for someone your age, especially at night." The girl spun around the face Roger. Roger, Collins, Mark, and Maureen all froze upon seeing her face.

"What? Is there something on my face? Did that asshole give me a black eye or something?" The girl tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear as she endured the scrutinizing stares of four complete strangers. Mark was the first to snap.

"No, it's just that you look like our friend-"

"April," Roger breathed.

**A/N:** Next chapter will be longer promise! Anyway, this story is the first of a trilogy of stories. I call it the "Mommy Trilogy". Each story has to do with motherhood in some way, shape, or form, but none of them involve a Bohemian being pregnant (in the story). You'll have to wait and see what the other ones are about. Much love, and until next time!

Tina101


	2. Selah

**Chapter 2: Selah**

Mimi wrapped her arms around Roger. She knew who April was, and what had happened to her.

"Wait, April?" the girl asked. "As in April Carson?" Roger nodded. He was too shocked to say anything at the moment.

"Yeah, how do you know her?" asked Collins.

"She's my Mother." That was the last straw for Roger. He stormed off wordlessly towards the loft. Sighing, Mimi followed after him.

"What's your name sweetie?" Joanne asked.

"Selah Carson. Did I say something wrong?" Selah questioned as she nodded in the direction of Roger.

"Don't worry about him," Mark replied. "Why don't you come back to our place, it appears as if we have a lot of things to talk about." Selah shrugged, and followed the Bohemians.

Meanwhile, Mimi ran after Roger calling his name. Halfway back to the loft, he had started heading back towards the Life. Finally, Mimi caught up with him. She grabbed his arm, and spun him around.

"Will you slow down and talk to me!?" demanded Mimi. Roger sighed, and faced the dancer.

"What's there to talk about!?" Mimi wrapped her arms around Roger's neck. "That girl is April's daughter! I had finally gotten past April Carson, and I'm greeted with _this_!" Mimi stroked Roger's rough cheek. A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Mimi's mind.

"She's not yours…is she?" she asked quietly. Roger quickly shook his head.

"She's too young, and we never had any kids, promise. That girl looks like she's about twelve or thirteen, so April would have been…" Roger paused to do a quick calculation in his head. "Fourteen or fifteen when she was born. April and I didn't meet until we were both eighteen." Letting out a breath of relief, Mimi buried her face in Roger's chest.

"Okay, good." Roger kissed the top of Mimi's head. "We should head back to the loft, that little girl obviously doesn't know about April." Roger sighed, and took Mimi's hand. Now, they had the heartbreaking task of telling a young girl about her Mother's suicide.

Selah followed the Bohemians back to the loft. Nobody said anything the whole way there. Mark slid the door open, and went inside.

"Make yourself at home," the filmmaker said as he dumped his camera bag on the table. Selah sat down on the couch, and looked around somewhat uncomfortably. Normally she would _never _trust complete strangers in New York City, but there something about their reactions upon seeing her. Judging by some of their faces, Selah figured that they knew her Mother. Selah knew that she was a mini version of her Mother, she had been told that for as long as she could remember.

"Can you tell me about my Mom?" she asked rather hopefully. Collins sat down next to Selah on the couch.

"We should wait until Roger gets back. He'll want to talk to you some," replied the anarchist.

"Roger?"

"The man that stormed off," Maureen explained quietly as she sat down on Joanne's lap. Joanne kissed her lover's cheek, and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You doing okay Honeybear?" she whispered in the diva's ear. Maureen nodded as Joanne tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Maureen closed her eyes, and rested her head on Joanne's shoulder.

When the loft door slid open, everyone looked up. In walked Roger and Mimi hand in hand. Roger smiled weakly when he saw Selah.

"Hey," he said to everyone as he went over and got a beer out of the refrigerator. "What did you say your name was?"

"Selah Carson." Roger hoisted himself up on the table, and sat cross-legged with his beer resting in front of him. He nodded as he took a long drink and set the bottle back down.

"And April's your Mother?" Roger hadn't really even looked at his friends after greeting them. All that mattered was getting the facts straight from Selah.

"So I've been told, but I don't know for sure. She ran away to here after I was born."

"Where are you from?" Mark asked. April had never talked about where she was from; she would always change the subject.

"Rochester. I took a bus here to find my Mother. Do you guys know where she is?" The Bohemians all looked at each other.

"How much do you know about April?" asked Collins.

"Enough to know that she's here in Alphabet City. I don't mean to be rude, but shouldn't _I _be the one asking the questions?" Collins chuckled.

"We want to make sure we're talking about the same person before we start telling you about your Mother."

Maureen stood up abruptly and exclaimed, "This is obviously April's daughter Collins! Just stop beating around the bush and come out with it!" Joanne got up, and pulled the diva close in hops of calming her down. Selah was now becoming scared. It was clear that everyone knew something that she didn't.

Roger got up, and sat on the round coffee table across from Selah. Nobody said anything at first. Roger sighed.

"I dated your Mom about five years ago. There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just be honest. Your Mother and I were junkies. She lived here for a while. Once, we used a tainted needle, and got AIDS. I'm sorry to tell you this, but your Mother's dead." Selah stared at her lap. A few tears slid down her cheeks.

After a few seconds, she asked quietly, "Was it AIDS? Did she die from AIDS?" Roger and Mark looked at each other.

"No honey, she uh, she…she killed herself." Now, Selah couldn't take it anymore. Sobbing, she fell forward into Roger's arms. The rocker rubbed the distraught girl's back in hopes of calming her down. Joanne took Maureen's hand, and lead her towards the door.

"We're going to get going guys. Sorry to just run, but I've got court tomorrow," the lawyer said. The Bohemians said goodbye to the two girls as they left.

Angel and Collins left about half an hour after Maureen and Joanne. Selah had calmed down a great deal, but was still upset.

"Were are you staying sweetie?" Mimi asked. Selah shrugged. She had figured that she'd sleep on another park bench again.

"The park?" she replied, rather uncertain about herself.

"Where you can get raped!?" Mimi exclaimed. "Like hell you are! You can stay here with us." Selah stood up and grabbed her backpack.

"That's where I've been the past few days, and I've been fine. My Mother's dead, there's nothing left to find out." Mimi stood up and grabbed Selah's arm.

"What about your Father? Please don't go out on the streets. If something were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself."

"Fine, I'll stay." Selah broke free of Mimi's grip and flopped back down on the couch. "As for my Father, I don't know anything but he was a fling from when my Mom came to the City to visit a friend for a week. As far as I know, he has no clue about me." Roger came into the room, and sat on one of the secondhand chairs that littered the loft.

"So you're staying?" he asked Selah. She nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I'll sleep on the couch."

"You can take my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch," Mark offered from where he was editing together some film.

"No, I'll be fine on the couch. I don't want to put anyone out, and it's a step up from a park bench." Mark sighed. He wasn't in the mood to argue.

"Does whoever you're living with know where you are?" Mimi asked. Selah chewed on her bottom lip.

"No, my Aunt and Uncle don't know that I'm here. I left them a note though, so that should count for something!"

"Oh honey, you can't do that! Your Aunt and Uncle must be worried sick about you. First thing in the morning, I want you to call them." Selah crossed her arms, and leaned back.

"Fine, whatever, I'll call them tomorrow." Satisfied, Mimi got up to get some blankets and a pillow for their new guest.

**A/N:** LONG chapter, but the next one's short. I have to go to school now, but I'll update again soon (if I feel like it!) I have up to chapter 5 (and part of 6) written, I hope to be completely done by Monday. Until next time, much love! Oh, and her name's pronounced, "Say-lah" for anyone who didn't know!

Tina101


	3. Reactions

**Chapter 3: Reactions**

The whole way home, Maureen didn't say anything. She had her hands jammed deep into her pockets, and she stared straight ahead. Joanne didn't say anything to her lover until they got back to their apartment. The second the couple got home, Maureen began to slam things around.

"That fucking son of a bitch!" shouted the diva. "Why the hell didn't she tell me? We lived together for almost a year, and she never said a damn thing to me about that poor girl!"

"Mo, Honeybear, please calm down. There's no use yelling and screaming. April's dead, and now we have to live with her choices." Right away, Maureen stopped.

"That's right, April's dead, and now we have to live with her fucked up choices." Joanne wrapped her arms around Maureen's waist, and pulled her close.

"You may have to live with April's choices, but that's no reason to get mad. We still have to find Selah's Father, and help her cope with this." Maureen pressed her forehead against Joanne's and closed her eyes. They still had a long road ahead of them.

Roger watched the gentle rise and fall of Selah's chest. After much tossing and turning, she had finally fallen asleep.

"It's like looking at a ghost, isn't it?" Mark asked quietly. Roger looked at the filmmaker and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm uh, I'm going to go to bed," he replied. Roger glanced at Selah one final time before retreating to his room. Mimi was curled up on the bed reading a book. She looked up and smiled when she saw Roger.

"Hey baby. Why don't you come to bed?" Wordlessly, Roger pulled off his shirt and jean, and crawled into bed next to Mimi with his back to her. The dancer put her book down, and turned to face her boyfriend. She gently brushed strands of dirty blonde hair out of his face. Roger rolled over to face Mimi. "What's wrong sweetie?"  
"It's seeing Selah; it reminds me so much of her." Mimi held Roger close.

"You miss her don't you?" Roger didn't answer. "It's okay if you do. She _was_ your girlfriend." Roger nodded into Mimi's chest.

"Yeah, yeah I do." Mimi stroked Roger's hair as he cried himself to sleep. It was the first time she had heard him cry, and it scared her a little.

_Roger's Dream/Flashback:_

_"Roger baby, I need to talk to you," April said as she grabbed Roger's arm. Roger gently broke free of April's grip, and continued to look around for his jacket._

_"Not now April," he said. April followed Roger around the loft. "God damn it, where the hell is my jacket?"_

_"Roger! I need to talk to you!" Roger turned around to face April._

_"April honey, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. Tonight, I'm all yours. We can talk as long as you want." Roger began to kiss April. The redhead ran her tongue across his lip, and deepened the kiss. When the couple finally broke apart, something seemed different about April. "Tonight," Roger whispered as he squeezed her ass playfully._

_"I love you," April said as Roger left. The rocker flashed a boyish grin over his shoulder._

_"I love you too babe." Roger never got a chance to talk to April; she was dead when he got home. _

_End Flashback/Dream_

Roger bolted upright in bed. A cold sweat covered his bare chest. Mimi sat up next to him.

"What's wrong Roger?" she asked sleepily. Roger stared at the bed, his mind still on his dream. "Roger?"

"She tried to tell me. About Selah, about having AIDS, about everything. If I had only listened, maybe…maybe…" Roger trailed off. Mimi kissed his temple, and stroked his rough cheek. Roger had always been the stronger one in the relationship, and now Selah was breaking him down.


	4. Doubts

**Chapter 4: Doubts**

Selah walked out of the bathroom after taking her first shower in days. She still had no clue that that was where April had killed herself. Mark was busy in the kitchen making a pot of coffee.

"Morning." Selah turned around to face Mark. "You're a filmmaker, right?" Mark nodded.

"Yeah, why?" Selah chewed on her bottom lip.

"You have any tapes of my Mother?" she asked after several seconds. Mark stopped what he was doing, and turned around to face Selah.

"Yeah, but Roger has all of them. You should talk to him when he gets up." Selah sighed.

"Why is everything, 'talk to Roger' or 'wait for Roger' around here?"  
"Roger was your Mother's girlfriend; he'd be the one to talk to. _That's _why he has the tapes, but he's never watched them." Selah turned back around, and waited for Roger to get up. "You need to call your Aunt and Uncle."

"I will." Mark went back to making breakfast, leaving Selah to her own thoughts.

Around noon, Mimi basically had to force Selah to call her Aunt and Uncle to let them know that she was safe. Selah picked up the phone, and dialed her home phone number. Luckily, no one was home.

"Hey Aunt Susan, Uncle Rick, it's Selah. Just calling to let you know that I'm safe. I found my Mom's boyfriend and her friends, and I'm staying with them. I love you, and I'll be home soon; bye." Selah hung up the phone, and turned around the face Mimi. "There, I called them." Mimi sighed.

"Was that so hard?" She asked. "Now they know that you're safe, and can stop worrying some. We have to find out who your Father is next."

Roger put his guitar to the side, and asked from his seat on the window seat, "What do you know about your Father?"

"My Mom came to visit a friend in the City, and met my Father. They had a fling while she was here. As far as I know, they never met again, and he has no clue about me." A flicker of doubt flashed across Roger's face; this couldn't be good.

Joanne and Maureen stopped by that afternoon. Joanne offered to sue all of her resources to try and find out how Selah's Father was. Selah was surprised by the Bohemian's kindness towards her. She stepped back for a few days, and observed the Bohemians. Slowly, she pieced together their stories. She knew who was dating who, who was closest with whom, and who lived with whom at any given point in time.

One morning, Selah went to go brush her teeth, but her toothbrush was gone. She looked around the bathroom for a few minutes before going out to the front room to ask Mimi about it.

"Hey Mimi, have you seen my toothbrush?" she asked. Mimi shook her head.

"Sorry honey. There should be an extra in the medicine cabinet," she replied. Groaning, Selah went back to the bathroom. Mimi watched the young girl from her seat on the couch. She was undoubtedly Bohemian with Bohemian blood in her. Today she was wearing faded blue jeans with large tears in the knees and paint splatters all over them, and an oversized gray hoodie. Her red hair was pulled back into a messy bun held in place by a single pencil, and strands of hair framing her face. Selah was a beautiful young girl with strong facial features, and the slightest hint of blonde in her hair.

Selah never found her toothbrush. Two weeks later, Roger came home from somewhere incredibly moody. Mimi followed him to their room to see what was wrong. Selah and Mark were at Maureen and Joanne's, so they were the only ones at the loft.

"What's wrong honey?" Mimi asked. Roger completely ignored her. "Roger! _What's wrong_!?"

"Nothing, nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" Roger shot back. He threw his jacket on the bed, and stormed out of the room. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor, so Mimi picked it up and looked at it; figuring it was a shopping list or something. Mimi nearly lost her balance when she read over the paper. No, this couldn't be happening, no! Mimi read over the bold faced print in hopes that she had read it wrong. Tears streamed down her face as those two words kept repeating in her mind.

"Paternity Test."

**A/N:** Ha! CLIFFIE!!!!

Tina101


	5. You Lied to Me!

**Chapter 5: You Lied to Me!**

Mimi stormed into the front room, furious beyond all possible belief. She went over to Roger who was sitting on the window seat strumming his guitar.

"You son of a bitch," Mimi said through clenched teeth. Roger put his guitar to the side and stood up.

"What? What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked.

"So now you want to talk, after I find this in your pocket!?" Mimi held up the paternity test. Roger's eyes nearly doubled in size. "You said that she wasn't yours! How could you lie to me!?"

"Mimi, please let me-" Mimi slapped Roger with all her might. Not moving his head, Roger sighed. "Listen, Meems."  
"Shut up, just _shut up_! I though that you didn't know April twelve years ago! Why did you lie to me?"  
"It didn't cross my mind until Selah mentioned it. Like she said, it was a fling. A one night stand so to speak. I was going to tell you, honest, but first I wanted to sort out my thoughts."  
"Why should I believe you, Roger Davis? Give me one good reason as t why I should believe you."

"Because I love you, and I'm sorry." Mimi bit her bottom lip, and shook her head. Tears streamed down her face. "When Selah gets home, send her up to the roof. I want to tell her." Roger grabbed the paternity test off the ground and his guitar, and bound up the stairs to the roof.

As soon as Selah got home, Mimi sent her up to the roof to talk to Roger. Mark, Maureen and Joanne all looked at the dancer. She still looked really upset.

"What's wrong sweetie?" asked Joanne as she sat down next to Mimi. Crying slightly, the dancer told her friends what she had found out. "Oh Mimi," Joanne said. The lawyer wrapped her arms around Mimi's thin shoulders.

"You sure he never knew?" Mark asked, still shocked by this whole thing. Mimi nodded. "And he's going to tell Selah right now?" Again, Mimi nodded. "This can't be good. From what I've seen, Selah's got a quick temper like her Father _and _her Mother."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Joanne said matter-of-factly.

Selah went up to the roof, and found Roger sitting there playing his guitar. His wavy blonde hair fell into his face as he bent over his precious instrument.

"Mimi said that you wanted to talk to me," Selah said quietly. Roger looked up and smiled slightly.

"Yeah come over here so we can talk." Selah sat next to Roger on a battered lawn chair that looked like it was about to fall apart.

"It's so cool up here," Selah breathed. Roger nodded.

"April loved it up here, but that's not why I want to talk to you." Roger turned to face Selah. "You remember that your Mom and Dad had a one night stand about thirteen years ago?" Selah nodded. "Well, thirteen years ago, I met a girl my age through a mutual friend. We were reckless and careless, and well, I guess this paper explains the rest." Roger handed Selah the paternity test results. Her hand flew to her mouth as she read the sheet over.

"Oh God, oh God," she repeated over and over again. "You knew, and didn't tell me!?"

"Selah, I just found out myself!"

"But you had a suspicion, and didn't tell me! This is my life we're talking about here!"

"And I didn't want to get your hopes up, I'm sorry. The point it, the mystery's over, you've found your Father." Selah looked at her lap.

"So…now what?"

"I guess you can go back to live with your Aunt and Uncle in Rochester. You can come and visit though." Selah shook her head.

"No, I want to stay here with you! Don't you want me here!?" she cried clearly heartbroken. "My Aunt and Uncle could care less about me. _Please_ Roger. Let me stay here with you."

"Do you see where I live? I barely have enough to get away, _and_ I'm dying! What kind of Father would I be?"  
"So I finally find my Father, and he doesn't want me." Selah stood up. "Fine, whatever, I'll leave. Some Father you are," she spat before going back downstairs.

Roger wasn't sure how long he at there on the roof. Selah's words stung. When Mark sat down next to the rocker, it brought him back to reality.

"We're all going to go meet Angel and Collins at the Life for dinner, you want to come?" asked the filmmaker. Roger shook his head.

"Mimi and Selah are mad at me," he replied. "I'm just going to stay here. You guys go ahead though."

"You sure man?" Roger nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, I need to sort out my thoughts. You go; it'll be for the best if I don't go." Mark stood up.

"Just for the record, I know that you didn't know about Selah." Roger smiled weakly at his best friend's faith in him, and watched the filmmaker leave.

By the time Roger went inside, everyone was gone. The rocker grabbed his leather jacket and a wad of money from his room, and left to go for a walk. Mimi and Selah's harsh words still rung fresh in his ears as he walked down the nearly deserted street to his destination. Was he really that much of a screw up? Of course he was. If only he had listened to April, things would be completely different.

"Roger, we're home!" Mimi announced as the Bohemians entered the loft. She was still pissed at her boyfriend, but she needed to be strong for Selah's sake. "Roger?" Even if Roger was mad, it wasn't like him to just ignore everyone. They normally got a grunt or something in response. Upon seeing their bedroom door closed, Mimi went over to open it and see if Roger was in their room. "Oh God, Roger!"

**A/N: **I know, I know, I've been bashing Roger lately…sorry! To make it up, I got Adam Pascal's CD, so I don't completely hate him!!

Tina101


	6. Forget Regret

**Chapter 6: Forget Regret**

Upon hearing Mimi's screams, the Bohemians rushed to the dancer's side. Roger was sprawled out on the bed with a scarf around his bicep and a needle in his arm. His breathing was shallow but labored.

"What's going on?" Selah asked. Collins spun around to face the girl. "What's wrong with him?" Now Selah sounded worried.

"Someone get her out of here!" Collins ordered. Maureen, Joanne, and Angel all led Selah over to the couch. The preteen glanced over her shoulder in hopes of seeing what was wrong, but someone had closed the bedroom door.

Right away, Mimi flew to Roger's side. She ripped the needle out of his arm, and threw it on the bed. Mark picked it up, but Collins grabbed it from him.

"No way man, if you prick your finger with that thing, it's all over for you," the anarchist said firmly as he put the needle on the dresser. Mimi sat cross-legged on the bed, and cradled Roger's head in her lap. She absentmindedly stroked his hair and cheek.

"Roger, Roger I'm sorry I yelled," she croaked. "Please, I'm sorry." Mimi's fingers lingered over the cheek she had slapped; it was slightly swollen.

"Mimi, maybe we should call an ambulance or something," Mark said. Mimi looked up, horrified.

"No, he's _fine_," she said firmly before turning her attention back to Roger.

Time seemed to crawl by to Mimi as she stroked Roger's cheek. Finally, a small smile crept across the rocker's face. Groaning, he covered Mimi's hand with his own, and his eyes fluttered open.

"Mimi," he managed to choke out. He closed his eyes, and leaned into the dancer's touch. "Some way to wake up," he said lightheartedly. His voice was strained and cracked.

"How are you feeling babe?" asked Mimi. Roger opened his eyes again.

"Tired. What happened?" Biting her lip, Mimi looked up at Mark and Collins. The two left the couple alone. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Roger shook his head ever so slightly. "You almost overdosed on heroin. I thought you were clean Roger!"  
"I was…I am. I kept hearing you and Selah yelling at me, and I felt that longing in my blood for smack again. I'm sorry Meems." Mimi gently traced the outline of Roger's face with her fingertip.

"It's only this once though…you're not using again are you?"

"No! Of course not. I'd _never_ do that to you." Relieved, Mimi continued to outline Roger's face. "I love you Mimi." Mimi smiled.

"I love you too."

The second Mark and Collins entered the room, everyone looked up. Angel was still trying to keep Selah somewhat calm.

"Is he going to be alright?" Selah blurted out before anyone else could even open their mouths. Collins nodded.

"Yeah, it looks like he'll be fine," he replied.

"Can I go see him? I really want to talk to him?" Everyone noticed that Selah didn't say Roger's name, but nobody brought it up.

"Mimi's talking to him, but go ahead. Know first though." Nodding, Selah got up, and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she disappeared inside the room.

"How's Roger?" Joanne asked.

"It looks like he just come off a high," replied Mark. "But he almost overdosed." Maureen was speechless.

"He's going to be fine," Collins reassured her as he pulled Angel onto his lap.

Selah slipped into Roger and Mimi's dark room. Roger was still lying with his head in Mimi's lap. The scarf had been removed from his arm.

"Hey," Roger said. "Come here." Selah crawled onto the bed next to the rocker and Mimi. "You have a good time at the Life?" Selah nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, but the manager yelled at us for being too loud." Roger chuckled.

"The manager _always_ yells at us; it's nothing new. I'm glad that you had a good time though."

"Listen, about what I said earlier-" Roger waved off the comment before Selah could even finish.

"Don't worry about it, you were mad. I want you to be here, but money's really tight. You're better off with you Aunt and Uncle."

"They're workaholics! As far as they're concerned, me being gone will let them go on more business trips. Please, I want to stay. I've wanted to stay since I got here!" Roger and Mimi looked at each other.

"We'll see what Joanne says tomorrow," Roger said as he sat up. Selah threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. Roger returned the hug. He was glad that he was getting a chance to fix his and April's mistake.

The next day, Roger was up and functioning like normal. Joanne stopped by, and the two went up to the roof to talk.

"So you want to keep Selah?" the lawyer asked. Roger nodded.

"Is that possible?" he asked.

"Oh it's possible alright. If you give me the paternity test, she can be yours by the end of the week!"

"Really, how?"  
"Roger, you're the girl's Father! a judge would have to be _crazy_ not to give her to you. Someone _could_ argue that you never cared about her before, but you didn't know about her before so that won't go anywhere."

"Thanks Jo, you're the best." Roger gave Joanne a huge hug.

"Glad I could help, just don't you dare pull another stunt like yesterday. You had us all worried sick."

"I promise. Come on, let's head back inside." Roger and Joanne went back inside to tell everyone else the good news.

**A/N:** One more chapter left!!


	7. Selah Davis

**Chapter 6: Selah Davis**

Little fight was given for Selah, as the preteen had predicted. Selah's Uncle Rick rented a U-Haul, and dropped off her stuff. He left without as much as a backwards glance. Roger and Selah spent a good part of the day getting Selah settled.

When they were done, the rocker turned to his daughter, and said, "So, what do you want to do now?"  
"Mark said that you have some tapes of my Mother. Could we watch some of them?" Roger sighed and closed his eyes. He had never watched those tapes, but he knew that Selah wanted to watch them.

"Sure, let's go."

Roger set up the projector and screen, and settled on the floor against the couch next to Selah. The screen flickered black before the film jumped to life.

"June 18, 1987, April's birthday," Mark's voice narrated. The camera panned across the loft. It looked exactly the same. Roger stood behind April with his arms around her waist, and his lips on her neck. His hair was bleached bright blonde and was much shorter, and he had several earrings in his one ear.

Selah and Roger watched the home movie in silence. At one point, she rested her head on his shoulder.

When the movie was done, Selah said quietly, "Wow, I really _do_ look like my Mom." Roger squeezed her shoulder softly.

"You do, but not your attitude. You act exactly like me." Selah smiled before yawning loudly. "You better not be tired, we're all going to the Life tonight."

"I'm not tired," Selah insisted with another yawn. Roger chuckled.

"Face it, all those late nights have finally caught up with you. Why don't you go lie down for a little while?" Selah shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"You won't be when we're at the Life, and you're begging to come home so you can sleep." Groaning, Selah got up off the floor.

"Fine, wake me up before we leave." Roger watched Selah retreat to her room. She even walked like April.

The Bohemians decided against going to the Life, because Maureen wasn't feeling well. This allowed Roger to let Selah sleep all night. All those long nights _had_ finally caught up with her. Plus, Roger wanted to take her somewhere special in the morning. The rocker sat in the middle of his bed scribbling away in his own precious notebook when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. Mimi buried her face in Roger's hair, and inhaled the wonderful scent that was her Roger.

"Whatcha writin'?" she asked. Roger put his pen and notebook aside.

"A song for Selah," he replied. "But I think that I'm going to turn in for the night." Mimi began to pout.

"Aww…I had something else in mind." The dancer left a trail of kisses down Roger's jaw. She straddled his lap, and pressed their lips together. Mimi ripped Roger's shirt over his head, and pushed him back on the bed. A groan escaped Roger's lips as Mimi continued to kiss him passionately.

Around nine o'clock the following morning, Roger gently shook Selah awake. The preteen groaned, and pulled her blanket over her head.

"Come on Selah, it's time to get up. We're going out," Roger said. Slowly, Selah opened her eyes.

"Where are we going?" she mumbled as she sat up. Roger was sitting on the edge of her bed by her legs.

"Out, now come on, get up." Selah stretched her arms over her head.

What time is it?"

"Nine fifteen, you've been out all night, now get up." Roger patted Selah's leg, and stood up. "Oh, and dress warm; it's pretty chilly out." The rocker left his daughter to get dressed on her own.

Selah finally stumbled out of her room, fully dressed, twenty minutes later. Both Roger and Mark were watching the news.

"Ready?" Roger asked as he stood up.

"Let me eat first!" snapped Selah.

"We're out of food. We'll get some breakfast on our way." Selah's face lit up.

"Can we get doughnuts!?"

"We'll see." Roger turned to Mark and asked, "Can you tell Mimi that we'll be back later when she finally gets up?"

"Yeah man. Hey, you better bring back some doughnuts or else Mimi'll have your ass!" Grunting, Roger led Selah out of the loft.

Roger and Selah walked down the grassy slope of the cemetery. The cold wind whipped around the two as they walked.

"Where are we going?" asked Selah. Roger stopped walking.

"Right here," he replied. Selah looked at the tombstone; April Erikson. Selah bit her bottom lip as tears pooled in her blue green eyes. She rubbed her arms to fight off the cold. Roger pulled off his jacket, and wrapped it around Selah's shoulders. "I told you to dress warm."

"I didn't realize that it was _this_ cold." Selah's attention turned back to the tombstone. "She was only twenty-one," she said quietly. Roger wrapped his arms around her. "Why didn't she want me?"  
"Oh honey, it's not that she didn't want you, but April gave up on life. She couldn't imagine a life with AIDS, so she chose no life at all. You two would have gotten along really well." Selah smiled. She and Roger stood there by April's grave; like a deformed family.

Finally, Selah said, "I love you, Dad." Now, it was Roger's turn to smile.

"I love you too, Selah."

**The End!**


End file.
